


Let Me Tell You Now You're the Lucky One

by phloridas



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Reality, but i hope you enjoy!, really just some formless fluff for you all, vidcon 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-21 06:27:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11351751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phloridas/pseuds/phloridas
Summary: predictable, /prəˈdiktəb(ə)l/adj.expected, especially on the basis of previous or known behaviorIt was laughable just how predictable these YouTube conventions had become. Dan knew their fans were well aware of his and Phil’s antisocial habits. He also knew he wouldn’t change a thing.





	Let Me Tell You Now You're the Lucky One

**Author's Note:**

> Based on [this](http://wispyphil.tumblr.com/post/162210998521/so-dan-and-phil-went-to-a-youtuber-party-sat-by) Tumblr post, which compiles [these](https://twitter.com/fIoraljoon/status/878445876464672768) [three](https://twitter.com/fIoraljoon/status/878465337942974465) [tweets](https://twitter.com/purebloodhowell/status/878522127128952833), as well as [this](http://botanistlester.tumblr.com/post/162203737402/pls-can-someone-write-a-fic-about-how-dan-and-phil) ask on @botanistlester. Really just some formless VidCon fluff but I hope you enjoy!
> 
> (Title from "The Lucky One" by Taylor Swift--I know it doesn't completely fit but like...Dan's pretty lucky since he's had Phil by his side for the last 8 years, don't you think? Ok we all know this was just another excuse for me to use Taylor lyrics as a fic title let's be real here)

_Isn’t it strange how some things never change through the years?_

_No, not strange. More like...comforting, actually_ , Dan thought, his lips quirking up despite his  exhaustion.

At the same time, though, it was laughable just how predictable these YouTube conventions had become. Dan knew their fans were well aware of his and Phil’s antisocial habits. He also knew he wouldn’t change a thing.

Like Pooh Bear to honey, they gravitated right to the food table, each filling up a clear plate with miniature appetisers and desserts, heading for the far empty corner without a word.

A blanket of warm comfort settled over Dan, pushing his breath out in a deep sigh. After the insanity of the last couple days, he felt a newfound appreciation for these few seconds of peace amidst the usual VidCon chaos. If only his life could always be this slow. From just the corner of his eye, Dan could tell that Phil felt the same way.

An icicle of nostalgia stabbed deep in his chest as Dan recalled countless identical moments to this, starting of course with his second-ever jaunt to Manchester.

Rather than a calm sense of belonging, Dan had felt ready to jump out of his skin. Why, _why_ had he let Phil wheedle him into dressing as a bear that year? It was far more childish than adorable, even next to Phil’s nearly identical lion costume.

He could hardly allow himself to breathe until they found an empty spot at the fountain--not to mention the alcohol had him almost drowning in desire for Phil.

Most of the other British YouTube events back then were about the same.

Even a small gathering could sometimes feel too much for Dan, especially when he recognised 90% of the faces from his computer screen. These people, with followings soaring past tens of thousands, couldn’t possibly have any interest in a fan like him.

He had no idea what Phil saw in him--heck, sometimes even now he still didn’t have a clue.

Soon came their first Playlist Live and their first VidCon, and nothing could ever have prepared Dan for the crowds. Sure, maybe by VidCon he could finally consider himself a YouTuber but that didn’t mean that massive convention center felt any more like home to him.

Even as he grew more confident in himself and more used to these events, Dan still found himself comforted by the one constant that remained through every trip--Phil.

Never once had Phil objected to Dan’s requests to grab food and retreat to a quiet corner, and over the years, Dan had come to discover that he shared just as deep an appreciation of their alone time. Dan never could express his gratitude enough for that.

“Hey. Hey, Dan.” Phil’s voice was all soft edges and bouncing rhythms, shaking Dan out of his nostalgia pit and back to the present moment.

Phil’s sharp features were painted with a barely concealed grin, his tongue just poking out the way it always does and making Dan’s own lips curl upwards despite himself. He lifted his eyebrows in response.

“You promised me a rematch Sunday, remember? And, well…” Phil tilted his head to the large black barrier separating the snacks from the minor chaos of giant screens and video games.

Sure enough, Dan recognised the pounding beats of DDR instantly. He stood up, dropping his uneaten scraps in a nearby bin, and turned back to Phil with a smirk.

“I swept the _floor_ with you last weekend, Lester. But sure, go ahead and try me. Just know you’ve got nothing on the master, though.”

“Oh you’re on, Howell.” Phil jumped up and scurried over to Dan, close but not too close. He must have also noticed the teenage girl across the room smirking down at her phone.

Various people dotted the video game area, but nobody that either Dan or Phil knew. Dan preferred it that way, though. Nobody to make asinine small talk with.

Still, he should have predicted it. Three guys, their dark faces turned to the bright stand-up game before them, all took a collective breath as Dan and Phil walked past. They blessedly left the two alone but Dan resolved to kept his guard up all the same.

As it was wont to do, an eventual slippery sweet comfort provided by Phil’s constant presence slid over him like a warm bubble bath.

Really, this spacious area wasn’t that different from their new temporary home. The TV may be a bit bigger, the walls a bit bluer, but the DDR mats were almost identical. Once Dan settled into the rhythm of the familiar song (the only one Phil was actually good at), everything around him just fell away. He didn’t even notice the small group that had gathered until they broke into rapid applause upon his completion.

Assuming they had recognised him and Phil, Dan turned a flushed face to the gleaming wood at his feet but smiled all the same. When he finally chose to look up, though, not a single person was talking about him or even mentioning him by name--they were all instead raving about his recent accomplishment.

“Holy _shit_ , man,” a twenty-something bloke with reddish blonde hair and pale skin enthused in a surprisingly deep American accent. “That was incredible! You totally owned your friend’s ass on there!”

Sure enough, Dan had demolished Phil’s B with his triple A score. For his part, though, Phil had done quite well--Dan had noticed him earning far more combos than usual.

He still lacked Dan’s impeccable rhythm, though.

“Hey, Phil here did pretty well too. I mean, a B isn’t that bad, especially on this song.” Dan gasped then, spotting a TV behind him. They had Guitar Hero here too? What, was this place made for Dan or something?

His admirers seemed to disagree but Dan couldn’t care less. With a short thanks and a wave goodbye, he led a slightly pouting Phil away from the crowd and up to the other TV.

But...oh no.

Someone else was striding over, a shorter guy a bit older than Phil, light skinned with light brown hair, wearing a black T shirt and a red lanyard, grinning and picking up the exact guitar controller Dan had had his eye on.

“Should we…should we ask?” Dan whispered, already taking a tentative step away. Maybe he could go back to the DDR...or even better, there was an empty TV loaded up with Mario Kart, that could be pretty fun too, right?

“Well, we’re not about to break into his game, are we?” Phil’s broad smile eased Dan’s nerves a bit. He always was so good at approaching people when Dan didn’t feel in the mood. They balanced each other out like that.

“Although I’ve got a good feeling you’re gonna cream that guy just like you did me.”

That vote of confidence was enough to put Dan’s legs in motion.

He felt eyes on him once again but chose to ignore it. Probably the girl on her phone, now freely broadcasting his activities to millions of people.

He tried not to let it get to him, as she really was harmless, after all. So were all her followers, hopefully. And so was this guy, who probably had no idea who Dan and Phil were--especially since they had both stuffed their lanyards in their back pockets immediately upon receiving them.

“Hey dude, you up for making this a two-player?” Dan felt he hid the shakiness in his voice pretty well--although it did squeak a bit at the end. He tossed the man a warm smile to balance it out.

“Sure, why not! I’m warning you, though, I’m pretty much the reigning king of Guitar Hero ‘round these parts.” A horrible attempt at a southern twang slipping into his American accent made all three men laugh amicably.

Phil hummed in disbelief. “You’ve never seen Dan here play, then. I’m telling you, he’s probably the best Guitar Hero player in the entire U.K., maybe even the entire world!”

“Oh come on. I mean, I’m pretty good but I’m not _that_ good. Phil just likes to talk me up, Lord knows why.” Dan grabbed a guitar from the plastic rack, smoothly logging himself into the game, his earlier nerves all but dissipated in the motions of this familiar routine.

“We’ll see about that,” the shorter man grinned, already scrolling through songs. “I’m Josh, by the way. Nice to meet you...Dan?”

“Yep. Hey, stop--how about this one?”

“Through the Fire and the Flames? Really?”

“Hey, go big or go home,” Dan grinned. From the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a hidden smile on Phil’s face. He alone knew the countless hours Dan had spent perfecting this insane song, often awaking him at all hours of the night. All that misery had apparently been good for something, though.

While Dan may not quite have perfected the song, he had enough of a handle on it that he figured he could still crush this Josh character. Having Phil beside him certainly helped too.

Within the first few notes, Dan felt his brain click into gear just as it had in their various apartments. It may have been a few months since his last attempt at this but that didn’t matter.

It felt as familiar as the soft curves of Phil’s skin and soon enough, his fingers flew across the buttons faster than should be allowed. He felt several eyes on him, probably the gaggle of guys who had recognised him and Phil when they entered, and maybe his DDR fanclub, but Dan was in another world. Nothing mattered now besides pushing his way through the song.

By the end, Josh’s breath was coming in heavy pants and he was looking at Dan like he had just arrived from another planet. Dan was sweating a bit but hid it with a confident grin. “Told you not to mess with the master.”

“What the--how the--how the hell did you do that?” Josh spluttered, slack-jawed and saucer-eyed.

“ _Far_ too much time to practice. Good game, though, Josh. You’re a lot better than I expected. I mean, being good at Guitar Hero isn’t the world’s most impressive talent, but you could use that rhythm for something. Ever thought about taking up drums?” Dan headed back to hang his guitar up. As cool as Josh seemed, Dan just wasn’t up for much socialising tonight. Phil was sure to understand.

“I was a drummer, actually! More of a bass player now when I get the chance, but I mainly work for talent management during the day. Hey, no rematch? I could kick your ass with Metallica, you know.”

“Yeah. Sorry, mate. I’d love to stay and talk about drums and stuff but I got hit with some pretty major jet lag just now.” A genuine yawn escaped Dan’s lips. Despite the fantastic sleep he had actually gotten the night before, that eight-hour time difference was finally starting to wash over him. Hopefully Phil was up for some soppy sleepy cuddles.

“Alright then. Well, have a nice night, Dan. You too, uh, Phil. Maybe I’ll see you around?”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll see us somewhere,” Dan muttered, masking his slight annoyance with a gentle laugh.

Phil looked ready to pounce the moment they were out of earshot.

“Dan! Holy shit, you were amazing out there! You are on _fire_ tonight, I’m serious!” The deeply fond tint to Phil’s eyes would have been dangerous in a room with more cameras but Dan chose to let it slide.

The girl from earlier had followed them back here, it appeared, but she was once again focused on her phone. Dan braced himself for the inevitable photo request once they passed.

Astoundingly, though, she remained leaning against the muted teal wall even as Dan and Phil slipped past the open doors and into the massive “backstage” area.

Huh. Maybe she was just a casual fan after all.

“Good thing I rebranded, then.” Dan grinned, inching just a bit closer to Phil in the remarkably empty convention center.

Phil just rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, oldest joke in the book. Anyway, wanna head back to the room? I’m getting kinda tired of phone cameras tracking our every move.”

No matter how many YouTube conventions they arbitrarily attended, Dan never would get used to that.

“I thought you’d never ask,” Phil murmured, sliding his fingers through Dan’s for the briefest second, squeezing once before letting go.

Dan smiled at the dark concrete. Falling back into their nighttime holiday routine blanketed Dan in a security he couldn’t find anywhere else--not even with his family, as much as their relationship had patched up in recent years.

Fans may poke fun at their incredible predictability but by this point, Dan didn’t mind. Really, he figured, what was the harm, especially when both parties took as much joy in it as they did?

They were Dan and Phil--and if that meant sneaking off for a solitary snack and gravitating straight to the video games before taking off for a long night to themselves, well, Dan wouldn’t change a thing.

And judging by the way his sneaky fond glances were now growing longer and longer, neither would Phil.

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: [@phloridas](http://phloridas.tumblr.com)
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! I know this wasn't much but I thought it might be a nice little break from my chaptered fic, Luminescence, which is about to get quite angsty. Kudos and comments are always hugely appreciated, I'd love to know what you think! I hope you're having a fantastic day/night wherever you are, and if not, hopefully this made it a teeny bit better. <3


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